Connie Sue Ellis packs up books at the Northwest Colorado Homeschool Association book and bake sale Saturday in Craig. Ellis is the president of the association, which held the event to boost its presence in the area. Nearly 30 families in Craig and neighboring cities are members of the organization.

Regional home-school association hosts book, bake sale in Craig

Craig  In hopes of boosting its presence in the area, the Northwest Colorado Homeschool Association held a book and bake sale Saturday in Craig.

The event was held from noon to 4 p.m. at Craig Christian Church, 960 W. Victory Way, where nearly a dozen homeschool professionals and students gathered to sell books, cookies and cupcakes.

“Today, we’re here to share a little bit about homeschool opportunities,” said Connie Sue Ellis, president of the association. “We’re a homeschool support group, which means we join together to help one another.”

Ellis homeschools her children, and her oldest, Katherine Ellis, just graduated as a senior from the homeschool program.

“It’s definitely helped me because I’ve had a lot of health issues,” said Katherine Ellis, 18. “It brought school to me instead of me having to work to get there. I also have a lot of food allergies.”

The association is a Christian homeschool support group that has been in Northwest Colorado for more than 20 years and caters to about 30 families in Craig and neighboring cities.

“I teach my children. I have six kids,” said Dave Longwell, who’s a member of the organization. Homeschooling “gives you the freedom to instruct your children to be taught things that aren’t necessarily important in the government schools’ eyes.”

Homeschooling allows parents and children to focus on curriculum that truly interests each individual, he said.

“If they’ve got something that they are interested in, they can really focus on that,” Longwell said.

One of the main focuses is to give kids one-on-one teaching.

“We try not to limit our kids to live in the smallness of the curriculum box,” Connie Sue Ellis said.